One of the most frustrating least pleasing things about being a parent of small boys is the fact that anything that can be destroyed, will be. Cardboard containers are the first to go. I love this smart organization tip from Shady Tree Diary: use plastic soap travel containers to corral small things like playing cards and crayons. Such a brilliant, but useful tip — soap containers are so much more sturdy than cardboard sleeves. See what else Deanna puts in these little containers over at her site: [how to use soap box organizers] [pin]

Project Estimate:

• Plastic soap container, $1
• Card game, on hand

Total: $1

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This week, I made molded papier-mache skulls with a dollar store silicone ice cube tray.  Making molded papier-mache is a pretty simple process, and you can make it with stuff you have on hand. It’s not a quick process though–I found that it takes a few days to cure the molded papier-mache. I am very happy with how versatile the silicone ice cube tray mold has been; it’s a lot of fun. So far, we have made:

• molded sugar skulls
• melt and pour soap on a rope
• chocolate skull pops

I even have a few more ideas for using the mold, and I have heard from several of you who have used them for other projects as well. But now, back to the molded papier-mache project.

Project Materials:

• Newspaper, on hand
• White glue, on hand or $1
• Silicone ice cube tray, $1

Total: $1 and up

Papier-Mache Pulp Recipe:

I got my recipe for papier-mache from Do It Yourself magazine (I have really been enjoying this magazine, by the way!). To make it:

1. Tear up newspaper into small pieces. I picked up a free local paper and used the whole thing (about 32 pages).
2. Pour boiling water over the newspaper and let it soak for an hour. Make sure you use a disposable bowl or recycled plastic container, or something you don’t care about, because a lot of ink comes off the paper. Make sure all paper is covered with water.
3. Drain water and mix soggy paper into small pieces with a hand mixer. The instructions said to use your fingers to break up the paper into smaller pieces, but I tried it for five minutes and it was slow going, plus my fingers got all covered in ink. The hand mixer made the job much easier!
4. Make a mixture of 4 teaspoons of glue to 1 teaspoon of water. Pour over the paper pulp and mix with your hand mixer. Be sure to wash the beaters immediately after you’re done with them. If you need more glue mixture, the ratio is 4:1.

   

To make the molded skulls:

1. Spray the mold with non-stick spray.
2. Push the papier-mache mixture into the mold. Pack it as tightly as you can down in the detailed area of the mold.
3. Fill in the entire mold with papier-mache. WARNING: this will take awhile to dry, even for these tiny 1″ ice cube molds. I left mine in the mold for two days before removing them (and even then, they were totally soggy).
4. After a couple days, unmold the skulls, then allow to dry until they are light and totally dried out. This might take a week. I don’t know because I did the following step:
5. Dry in your oven at 150° F for 2 or more hours, until dry. I used my toaster oven on the convection setting for 2.5 hours.

When the skulls are completely dry, trim off excess papier-mache with scissors (I used kitchen shears) and sand with sandpaper, if a smoother finish is desired. Decorate however you like. I painted mine with acrylic craft paint.

Tips for painting with craft paint:

• You can paint the papier-mache sculpture with an undercoat of paint  or just decorate the papier-mache directly. Mine was muddy gray, so I opted to paint my skulls with white and antique white craft paint.
• The papier-mache is, by nature, rough and bumpy. Don’t expect it to be easy to achieve superfine painting detail.
• Wet your brush and mix with acrylic paint. You’ll need a bit of water mixed with your paint to get adequate glide over the bumpy surface (and the water will help you cover all the crevices easily).
• If you make a mistake, just wait for the mistake to dry and paint over it. Super easy.
• In fact, the way I found to make better detail was to paint my color in layers (specifically the teeth). Paint the black outline first (let it dry), and then dab white for teeth. When the paint dries, touch up any spots that need to be cleaned up.
• If it doesn’t look as good as you want it to, just keep adding layers of paint until you like it!
• Add some glitter or metallic paint for a little special something (I used a few coats of Plaid Extreme Glitter paint on a couple of my skulls).
• I tried to use a permanent marker to decorate my skulls, but I didn’t like the effect. Maybe you will get better results than I did!

So this is project #4 with these molds, and I still have a bunch of ideas. I’m trying to do as many of them as I can before Halloween arrives, but of course, all these projects work with any silicone mold, so keep these techniques in mind for other events.

Now, what should I make with these little guys?

The post Make Molded Papier-Mache Skulls appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I got a lot of winning video material out of my recent Dollar Tree shopping trip with Breanna. I even got some footage to give you a taste of what it’s like shopping at the dollar store with three little kids. Parent of the  Year, or Parent from H-E-double hockey sticks? You be the judge (and let me know what you think).

My tips for shopping with kids?

1. Make sure they’re at the beginning of their day/as far away from naptime as possible
2. Make sure they’ve eaten recently
3. At the dollar store, bribe with $1 (“You can choose ONE thing to take home”)
4. Keep a reserve bag of candy or snacks in your purse for additional bribes
5. Hit the toy aisle LAST (and use it as a bribe for good behavior)
6. Keep your voice low so the whole store doesn’t know your business with your kiddo
7. Leave before it’s too late

LiEr at ikat bag wrote a post awhile back about fabric shopping with kiddos that you might enjoy. Lots of great tips there (my favorite one, which holds true in any situation: “dress your children adorably.  Other patrons in line with you for the cutting counter are more easily charmed by a child in a well-put-together outfit.”)

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I’m in awe of those who can plan a truly fabulous party. If party-planning doesn’t come naturally to you, I’ve collected some quick tips to help you plan amazing parties (and save money doing it). But first, the inspiration for this post, Shelley’s Sweet Shoppe party over at How Does She – her adorable twins had the best.first.birthday.ever with this amazing sugary pink party. All photos by Kara Jo Photography. [check out this adorable pink party at How Does She?]

Quick Tip: Make ruffled streamers and hang them in sweet stripes as a background for your party

Choose a theme… and stick to it

One thing I’ve noticed in the party posts we all drool over is that the planners choose a theme and do not deviate. In order to make maximum impact, every detail of the party must serve the theme.

Saving Money: a theme helps you save money because it eliminates excess components that don’t fit in your theme. It gives you direction for where to spend your money, and what items to include in the party.

Now, being the social/squishy person I am, I have to remind you that the MAIN theme of any party is the person it’s being planned for. In your quest to create the perfect party, please don’t forget the guest of honor (and the rest of your guests). Make sure the experience is great for everyone by focusing on the guests, including yourself, on the day of the party. Nobody likes a partyzilla. Which brings us to my next point:

See Page 2 for more –>

The post Fabulous Sweet Shoppe Party and Tips for Cheap Party Planning appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

This handmade Indiana Jones satchel, like the Upholstery Sample Backpack, was made for my 3 year-old son. And, like the backpack, it’s a quick project that is elegant in its simplicity. My son really enjoys the Lego Indiana Jones game, and loves to pretend he’s Indy. And what would Indy be without his satchel? I used a panel from a leather skirt to make this purse, and it only took me about twenty minutes to put together. If you don’t have any thrifted leather lying around, how about a couple pieces of wool, craft felt, imitation leather, brown fleece, or scrap fabric? Any of these will work well for a play satchel.

Just like yesterday’s project, this is quick and dirty, and doesn’t have any of the niceties I would include on a purse for myself (like extra pockets, lining, topstitching, or finished edges). I think it’s a pretty handsome leather purse, though, honestly! It’s a fabulous Indy satchel, and although my preschool son can’t appreciate how nice it is, I’m hoping it will last for a couple years (when he will probably appreciate it a bit more).

Project Estimate:

• Thrifted leather garment, $1 and up (probably more than $1)
• Leather needle for your sewing machine, $1 (a pack of 5 for about $3-5)
• Metal rings and clips, a pack of 100 for about $3
• Thread, scissors, etc.

Total: $3 and up

Find out how to make the Indiana Jones satchel on page 2, how to work with thrifted leather on page 3

The post Make an Indiana Jones Satchel (plus Tips for Working with Thrifted Leather) appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Reader Bonnie B. sent this tip for storing embroidery floss:

I had to share this find with you.  My 99 cent store has the snap together ice trays that make cylindrical ice cubes about 4 inches long; 8 or so to a tray.The bottom tray has tiny holes on the bottom that are perfect for threading embroidery thread.

I’ve bought several trays and store embroidery thread inside each ice “trough” and put the end of the hank through the tiny hole.  I mark the outside of the tray with the number/color of the thread.  It’s an easy way to store thread and see what I need while working on a project!

Great tip, Bonnie! Thanks for sharing!

Project Estimate:

• Cylindrical ice cube tray, $1

Total: $1

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You don’t have to spend a lot of money for a birthday party! There are lots of things you can do to keep costs down and keep things fun and festive.

For my first son’s first birthday party (in 2007), I had a pirate-themed party. I asked all the guests to come dressed as a pirate. Here’s grandpa and the birthday pirate boy. I made the boy’s swabbie stocking cap out of a sleeve from a thrifted shirt. He wore a striped onesie he already had, and some pants with elasticized ankles that sort of look like short breeches or something. I put some of my own striped socks (pulled up tall) on him.

Things to do to keep things cheap but fun:

• Plan ahead and shop around
• Make it a costume party (fun & free!)
• If it’s a costume party, use costume parts as party favors (for us: dollar store eyepatches, spy glasses and rings)
• Make your own cake and/or snacks
• Get decorations at the dollar store or make from your craft stash
• Make “big” decorations (for me: the “sail” for our ship)
• Use a location you have free access to (for me: my parents’ backyard deck)
• Use consumable decorations (for us: a basket of fruit)
• Balloons & crepe paper streamers are super cheap, but have big impact

Pirate boy later got an eyepatch, a parrot finger puppet (gift), and a plastic sword (gift) to round out his outfit.

Dressing up as a pirate was fun! One of the reasons I chose the theme (besides liking pirates a lot) is because everyone should be able to cobble together a piratey outfit from things they can find in their closets. For mine, I used a blue bandanna, a stripey shirt covered by an old work vest (turned inside out), rolled up pants, a chiffon tie around my waist, white knee socks and black buckled mary jane shoes. I also added a funky plasticky necklace because it had funny pirate charms on it.

If you choose to have a costume/dress up party, try to choose a theme that won’t require special costumes or equipment. Good themes for this: pirate, cowboy, prince or princess, army man, etc. If you have a party for kids and ask them to wear a costume, it’s nice to include a list of suggestions for those parents who aren’t as creative as you are!

Everyone interpreted the pirate look differently, which just added to the fun.

I used the back porch as our “ship” and made a sail out of two long wooden stakes I got at Home Depot for less than a buck. I stapled a plastic tablecloth to the boards for a sail. I got the pirate flag garland, and some of the other piratey decorations at the dollar store. I used the pirate tablecloth on the table, and the excess was hung up on the wall for extra decor. Also, I swear by using crepe paper and balloons to decorate for a party because they are easy and cheap, and make a huge impact for very little money. They also help make the photos really colorful and festive!

I decorated the party table with “booty” displayed in decorative bowls and baskets we already had on hand. Some of the party booty: Gummy fish (bulk from Winco), gold coin chocolates, dollar store jeweled rings, dollar store eyepatches and spyglasses. I put tropical fruit from the grocery store in the basket to add to the atmosphere.

Pirate ship cake made out of cake (baked in a loaf pan) decorated with cookies and candy to make it look more piratey. I had long gold candles that I stuck out of the sides of the cake to look like cannons. Bamboo skewers were threaded through paper sails, and a paper cup became a crow’s nest. Plastic pirates from the party store manned the ship.

Since I love first birthday parties to have a special cake for the special guest, I made a small loaf cake and cut it open to make it look like a treasure chest with M&M treasure in it.

You gotta have that gratuitous first birthday cake shot!

I know my son won’t remember his first birthday, but I had a lot of fun planning it, and it was a great way to start out my birthday party giving traditions!

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